Conveyer system



Feb. 2 ,1926. 1,571,525

H. N. MIDDLETON CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed Feb. 18, 1921 Patented Feb. 2, 1926.

UNHTED STATES HARRY N. MIDDLETON, OF WE$TVILLE NEVJ JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO B. F. STURTE- 1,571,5a5 rArEN'r orrlcn.

VAN'I COMPANY, OF HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS, A GOBPQRATATION OF MASSA- CH'USETTS.

CONVEYER SYSTEM.

Application filed February 18, 1921,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY N. MIDDLETON, a citizen of the United States, residing at VV'estvill'e, in the county of Gloucester and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyer Systems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertai'ns to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to conveyor systems, and more particularly to systems e 'nployi'ng conduits or pipes through which the material is carried by a current of air.

In such systems it is often desirable to provide for the delivery of the niaterial at one or another point, as circumstances may require, and conduits or pipes are accordingly provided leading from the main supply pipe with suitable switch dampers, socalled whereby the material may be directed into the desired conduit or pipe. Difliculty has heretofore been experienced in providing a switch damper which, when set to direct the material into one dellvery pipe, effectually prevents the escape of air or material into the other conduit, particularly where material of a finely divided nature 1s being handled, and which is free from all liability of catching or holding any long or stringy material being conveyed, such as cotton or wool, with the possibility of blockinc; the system.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to devise a construction of pipes or conduits and switch damper whereby material may be directed into one or another of the delivery pipes or conduits without loss or leakage of material or air. Another object oi the present invention is to provide 21 construction of pipes and switch damper having no projecting parts or edges upon which material of a long or stringy nature, such as cotton or wool, can catch and beheld.

\Vith these and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the devices and combination of devices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and more particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate is now considered to be the preferred. e nbodiment of the. present inven- Serial No. creme.

tion, Fig. 1 is a top sectional View on lines 1-1 of F 2, showing a supply conduit or pipe and two delivery conduits or pipes, with a switch damper for directing the material through either one or the other of the delivery pipes; Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 22 in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a perspective on an enlarged scale of the switch damper.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings the material is conveyed from some source of supply by means of a current of air through a pipe 4 in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is directed into one or the other of the delivery pipes 5 and 6, as desired.

These supply and delivery pipes, as is the custom, are circular in cross section but at their ends 7, 8, and 9, respectively, adjacent the switch damper, are substantially square in cross section.

These ends of the supply and delivery pipes are joined by a closed or air-tight connection 11 of truncated, wedge shape, having flat top and bottom, 12 and 13. The rear side, as viewed in Fig. 1, is provided with an opening surrounded by the outturned flange 14 and closed by the plate 15, the flange of which is bolted to the flange la. The front face adjacent the supply pipe is bowed or curved, as shown at 16.

Mounted within the connection 11 is the switch damper illustrated in Fig. 3. It comprises the top 20, side walls 21 and 22, and bottom 23, having its ends open. It is pivotally mounted within the connection 11, being fixed upon a shaft 24, which is pivoted in the connection 11 and has the actuating handle 25 extending from its lower end. A convenient method of mounting the switch damper upon the shaft 14 is by bending the sido721'back upon itself and riveting it as at 2 The side of the switch damper projects rearwardlybeyond the side. 21 being curved as at 29 in the arc of a circle, of which the axis of shaft 24 is the center. The curved, portion 29 has a loose fit within the curved. portion 1.6 of the wall of the connection 1.]. The delivery end of the switch damper is also curved or arc shaped, as shown at 31., the center curvature being the axis of Shatter."

In order that there may be no surface edges upon which the material inay be caught or held, the square section 7 of the supply pipe 4 is extended into the connection 11' and enters the receiving end of the switch damper. Thusthe bottom 33 of the supply pipe overlies the bottom 23 of the switch damper, and the sides 34 and 35 overlie the edges of the side walls 21 and 22 of the switch damper. The top; of the section 7 underlies the top 20 of the switch damper. The material in passing fromthe supply pipe into theswitch damper meets no edges upon which it can catch. The projection of the top, bottom and sides of the supply pipe into the switch damper is or such extent that these parts still enterthe receiving end of the switch damper when the latter is adjusted to divert the material into the delivery pipe 5, as show'n in dotted lines in Fig.1. o. p vent ma r l beiesl g p the-edge 37 where the converging walls of thedeliver y pipes or sectionsj8 and9 meet, the delivery end of the I switch damper is made of slightly less width than the widths ofthe receivingendsof the delivery pipes, so that-in whichever positionthe switch damper may beset, the sidewall adjacent the edge 37 will always ;be offset slightly towards the medialline of the pipe or conduit into which the material is to be de livered. p c

In order that the switch damper may be actuated easily from one position to the other, clearance must be given between the delivery end of the switch damper" and the edge 37 where the side walls of the delivery pipes or c'onduitsm'eet, Toprevent leakage of fine or powdered inat'erial and of air through this clearance space, flexible canvas strips 39 have been provided which are rivet ed to the delivery edges of the side walls 21 and 22, projecting therefrom a short distance. v I v These flexible stripsextend ever and close this clearance space. engaging the inner surface of the side wall or one conduit when the switchdamper is in position to discharge material into the othenc onduit. The flexibility of the strips permitsthem to bend and yield sutliciently to allow the delivery edge of the side wall of the switchdamper to benioved slightly past the edge 37 of the delivery pipes.

The removable plateor closure 15 is not only aconvenience in assembling the apparatus, since it permi'ts the piping including the section 11, to be erected first 'and the-n the switch damper to be placed in position, but it also afiords easy'access to theinterior ot the connection 11 for the purpose of inspection or repair.

Inoperationit only necessary to swing i I i r L :1: 3 t the handle 20 iromone extreme posit o to I the other in order to change the s'w tch damper and divert thestreain of material from one delivery conduit or pipe into the other.

Having thus described the present invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a conveyor system, a supply pipe having adjacent its discharge end one side wall arc-shaped as viewed in longitudinal section, a pair of intersecting delivery pipes having their top,.bottom and side walls extended to the supply pipe to form a closed connection therewith, a switch damper located within said connection and comprising a four wall section having open ends, one of the walls adjacent the receiving end being arc-shaped to ffit the arc-shaped supplypip e, the damper being nivotally mount- H u I ed ad acent the receiving end on the side opposite from the arc-shaped wall, and means ;t'or swinging the damper to bring one on the other of its side walls inte contact with one or th other of the extended side walls of the delivery pipes to cause the discharge end of the damper to register with one or the other of the delivery pipes.

2. In a pneumatic convey er system a supply'pipe, a plurality of delivery pipes, a closed section connecting the supply and delivery pipes and having an arc-shaped wall, a switch damper mounted within the closed sectionand having top, bottom and side walls and open receiving and discharging ends, one of said walls being arc-shaped to lit the arcshaped wall of the connecting section, the damper being pivoted at the receiving end and fitting closely the connecting section, the supply pipe extending into the receiving end of the damper, and ii'ieans for moving the damper to bring its discharge end into register with one or another of the delivery pipes.

, 3. In a pneumatic conveyer system, a supply pipe, a plurality of delivery pipes, a closed section connecting the supply and the delivery pipes, 'a'switch damper located within the closed section, and consisting of top, bottom and side walls with open ends,

and pivoted at its receiving end, the top, bottom and side walls of the supply pipe I entering the open end of the switch damper,

the side walls of the delivery end of the switch damper being provided with flexible strips for clos ng the opening between the walls otthe switch damper and of the delivery pipes to preyent the escape of air or material, and means for movlng the damper. In a pneumatic conveyer system, a sup pipe,-'a pair or delivery pipes, a section hav ng top, bottoin and side walls connectmg the supply plpe and the delivery pipes, a switch damper located within f said cc n1 iection andconfsisting jot top, bottom anal side lls withjopn endsland piycted'at its rer. e ald at i. deiher d tliejsu e v pipe extending into these section and entering the open end of the switch damper, the discharge end of the switch damper being of less width than the receiving ends of the delivery pipes, and means for closing the clearance joint between the switch damper and the delivery pipes to prevent the escape of air or material.

5. In a pneumatic conveyer system a sup ply pipe, a pair of delivery pipes, a closed section connecting the supply and delivery pipes and having side walls aligning with the outer or non-adjacent side walls of the pair oi delivery pipes a switch damper mounted within the section having top, bot-- tom and side walls and open ends and providing a straight passage tor the air and material, the receiving end of the damper fitting closely within the closed connecting section adjacent the supply pipe with the end of the supply pipe extending into the open end of the switch damper and the discharging end of the damper fitting closely one or another of the delivery pipes with a side wall of the damper engaging a side wall of the connection, and means for movit the switch damper to direct the material l'ioin the supply pipe into one or another of the delivery pipes.

In a pneumatic conveyor system a supply pipe; a pair of angularly disposed deliver pipes having their receiving ends arranged in a single are as viewed in longitudinal section and with their adjacent side walls joining, a closed section connecting the supply and delivery pipes, such section having its side wall adjacent the supply pipe of arc shape as viewed in longitudinal section, a switch damper mounted within the section having top, bottom and side walls and open receiving and discharging ends, one side wall adjacent the receiving end being arc-shaped as viewed in longitudinal section and of substantially the same radius ot' curvature as the arc-shaped wall of the connecting section, the damper being pivotally mounted within the section at the center ott' curvature of the arc-shaped walls, the end of the supply pipe entering the open receiving end of the switch damper, the discharging end of the switch damper being arc-shaped as viewed in longitudinal section and of substantially the same radius of curvature as the arc-shaped ends ot-the delivery pipos, the pivot of the damper being the center of curvature, the discharging end of the damper being of slightly less transverse width than the width of the opening of the delivery pipes, and the side walls of the damper at the discharging end having flexible strips to close the clearance opening between the end of the switch damper and the junction of the adjacent side walls of the delivery pipes.

7. In a pneumatic conveyor system, a supply pipe having an arc-shaped side wall adjacent its end, a pair of intersecting de livery pipes, a switch damper having top, bottom and side walls and open receiving and discharging ends, a sidewall adjacent its receiving end being arc-shaped to fit closely the arc-shaped side wall of the supply pipe, a'pivot tor the damper at its receiving end at one side thereof opposite from the arc-shaped wall, the discharge ends ot. oppositely disposed walls of the damper being equidistant from the axis of the pivot so that each wall may tit closely the junction of the adjacent walls of the delivery pipes, and means for moving the damper.

HARRY N. MIDDLETON. 

